What you may have missed on PDR last week

Following is our end-of-the-week summary of all the topics covered on our Politics Done Right on KPFT 90.1 FM program, which is also streamed on Facebook Live, YouTube Live, Twitter, and Twitch.

Oct 29, 2023

Monday October 23rd, 2023

$10 Trillion in Added US Debt Since 2001 Shows 'Bush and Trump Tax Cuts Broke Our Modern Tax Structure': The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday released new figures related to the 2023 budget that showed a troubling drop in the nation's tax revenue compared to GDP—a measure which fell to 16.5% despite a growing economy—and an annual deficit increase that essentially doubled from the previous year. "After record U.S. government spending in 2020 and 2021" due to programs related to the economic fallout from the Covid-19 crisis, the Washington Post reports, "the deficit dropped from close to $3 trillion to close to $1 trillion in 2022. But rather than continue to fall to its pre-pandemic levels, the deficit unexpectedly jumped this year to roughly $2 trillion." While much of the reporting on the Treasury figures painted a picture of various and overlapping dynamics to explain the surge in the deficit—including higher payments on debt due to interest rates, tax filing waivers related to extreme weather events, the impact of a student loan forgiveness program that was later rescinded, or a dip in capital gains receipts—progressive tax experts say none of those complexities should act to shield what's at the heart of a budget that brings in less than it spends: tax giveaways to the rich. [More]
3rd embarrassing defeat in Congress and a huge defeat in the secret GOP vote forced Jim Jordan to give up: Jim Jordan withdrew his bid to be the Speaker of the House after a crushing defeat in the wells of Congress and a subsequent secret vote in the Republican Caucus. [More]
‘For Shame’: Pfizer to Charge $1,390 for Lifesaving Covid Drug That Costs Just $13: U.S. consumer watchdog Public Citizen on Thursday excoriated Pfizer after the pharmaceutical giant announced it would more than double the price of a lifesaving Covid-19 treatment, which will soon sell for an estimated 100 times the cost of production. Pfizer said Wednesday that it will price its patented Covid treatment nirmatrelvir-ritonavir—sold under the brand name Paxlovid—at $1,390 for a five-day course. Researchers Melissa J. Barber and Dzintars Gotham recently estimated it costs Pfizer $13 to produce five days’ worth of the drug, which is taken in three-pill doses. “Pfizer’s new price is an estimated 100 times the cost of production,” Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program, said in a statement. [More]

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Tuesday October 24th, 2023

Liz Cheney keeps a prospective Presidential run open as she excoriates MAGA Republican politicians: Liz Cheney appeared on CNN’s show State of the Union with Jake Tapper, saying she is not ruling out running for president. In the process, she excoriate MAGA Republican politicians. [More]
Sanders Demands Probe of Push to Give Company Patent for Public-Funded Cancer Treatment: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday called for an inspector general investigation into an effort to grant a company tied to an ex-government employee an exclusive patent license for a cancer treatment produced with public resources, as revealed last week by The American Prospect. Sanders (I-Vt.), who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, demanded a probe of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) patent proposal in a letter to Christi Grimm, inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "I am growing increasingly alarmed that not only has the NIH abdicated its authority to ensure that the new drugs it helps develop are reasonably priced, it may actually be exceeding its authority to grant monopoly licenses to pharmaceutical companies that charge the American people, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs," Sanders wrote. "One particularly egregious example has recently been brought to my attention that I believe demands your immediate attention." [More]
Taxes, state parks, infrastructure: What you need to know about the Nov. 7 constitutional amendments election: Texans will decide the fate of 14 constitutional amendments recently sent to the ballot by state lawmakers during the Nov. 7 election. [More]

Wednesday October 25th, 2023

John Whitmire, Houston Mayoral Candidate, on his affinity for Republican funders & policies: Conservative Democratic Houston Mayoral Candidate dodges questions about his MAGA Republican donors and the Republican policies/talking point he seems fond of. [More]
Cameron Campbell, Democratic Precinct Chair, on why he signed the petition to admonish DA Kim Ogg: Precinct 991 Precinct Chair Cameron Campbel is one of 60+ precinct chairs who signed a document to admonish Harris County DA Kim Ogg. [More]
UAW Responds to Record GM Revenue by Striking at Company's Most Profitable Plant: Roughly 5,000 United Auto Workers members walked off the job at General Motors' most profitable plant in North America on Tuesday, shortly after the company posted earnings that surpassed Wall Street's expectations, reporting nearly $3.1 billion in third-quarter profits. "It's time GM workers, and the whole working class, get their fair share," UAW president Shawn Fain said in response to the company's earnings report, which comes more than a month into the union's historic strike at the Big Three U.S. automakers. Including the surprise walkout at GM's Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas—the production site of the company's Chevrolet Tahoe Cadillac Escalade—around 45,000 UAW members are currently on strike across GM, Ford, and Stellantis. [More]

Thursday October 26th, 2023

Republicans elect a bona fide election-denying MAGA Congressman to be Speaker of the House.
New GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson Has Proposed Trillions in Cuts to Social Security and Medicare: The newly elected Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives has previously proposed trillions of dollars in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and suggested that slashing the programs should be the top priority of Congress. During his tenure as chair of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) between 2019 and 2021, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) helped craft budget resolutions that called for roughly $2 trillion in Medicare cuts, $3 trillion in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act cuts, and $750 billion in Social Security Cuts, noted Bobby Kogan of the Center for American Progress. [More]
'This Is Unacceptable': As Many as 20 Reported Dead, Dozens Wounded in Maine Mass Shooting: In yet the latest mass shooting involving a gunman and a military-style assault rifle in the United States, between 15 and 22 people were killed and scores wounded Wednesday night in the city of Lewiston, Maine. Citing a Lewiston police source, NBC News reported that 22 victims were dead and another 50-60 individuals injured during the shootings—believed to be by the same perpetrator—that took place in at least two separate locations, including a bowling alley and a nearby bar and eatery. Local outlets have put the death toll between 15 and 20, but law enforcement remained reluctant to confirm a specific number, with the shooter still at large. [More]

Friday October 27th, 2023

Biden Approval Among Democrats Falls 11 Points as He Greenlights Israeli Assault on Gaza: A Gallup survey released Thursday shows that U.S. President Joe Biden's approval rating among Democrats has fallen by 11 percentage points this month, a possible indication that his unconditional support for Israel as it carries out massacres in the Gaza Strip is angering part of his base. In September, 86% of Democrats approved of Biden's job performance. But between October 2 and October 23, Biden's approval rating among Democrats has fallen to 75%, according to Gallup—the lowest level of his presidency. Megan Brenan, a research consultant at Gallup, argued the survey results suggest that "Biden's immediate and decisive show of support for Israel following the October 7 attacks by Hamas appears to have turned off some in his own party." [More]
Why Democrats (& Democracy-Loving Republicans & Independents) Can’t Trust John Whitmire for Mayor of Houston!: The evidence is clear: a vote for John Whitmire is a vote to cede our city to those intent on taking away what makes us Houston, our freedom, our diversity, our kindness, and much more. I always heeded my mom's advice that if one slept with dogs, one would rise with flees. Unfortunately, Whitmire didn't. [More]
U.S. Strikes Iranian-Linked Targets in Syria: The Pentagon said the airstrikes against facilities used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and its proxies were in retaliation for recent rocket and drone attacks on American forces. This is how escalation starts. [more]

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